After Master Zhou had pledged his loyalty, he finally raised his head and surveyed the courtyard. This was a genuine quadrangle courtyard in Capital City. The trees planted in the yard exuded an aura of ancient roots worth thousands.
Bai Yuhuai put down the Chinese checkers in his hand: "What did the Jing family do? What did they say to you?"
Master Zhou didn't dare delay and recounted everything to Bai Yuhuai.
Bai Yuhuai: "Mm."
Master Zhou was a bit uncertain. He had never seen such a young man who was so serious, rarely smiled, and had such deep schemes.
Master Zhou hurriedly asked with embarrassment: "Mr. Bai, did I do anything wrong?"
"As long as you do as I told you, you won't make mistakes."
Master Zhou let out a huge sigh of relief.
Bai Yuhuai glanced at him, then put away the Go pieces in front of him.
Indeed, he was worthy of being an old con artist who had made his way into the entertainment industry, able to handle even Jing Tinghua.
Bai Yuhuai stood up: "You can stay here for now."
Master Zhou, now relaxed, couldn't help but ask: "Whose courtyard is this? Did you buy it?"
Jing Jiujiu finally smiled slightly: "It's mine."
It was bought for him by Yu Ran when he was five years old.
He had just gotten it back and hadn't even had time to warm it up yet.
Master Zhou's mouth fell open.
The young man in front of him, at such a young age, already owned a quadrangle courtyard in Capital City!
Thinking back to his own bold statements earlier... Master Zhou was filled with shame. He had been careless and presumptuous! Fifteen million was nothing to this young master!
"I will try my best to con fifty million from the Jing family," Master Zhou patted his chest again.
This way, when it came time to split the money, wouldn't it be much more substantial!
Jing Jiujiu: ?
Jing Jiujiu: "Ah, um."
Although he didn't understand why Master Zhou wanted to split money with him. But since it was conned money anyway, the more he could get, the better. Getting money was quite enjoyable.
By the time Bai Yuhuai and Jing Jiujiu left, Master Zhou had already divided the money and put it in a black bag: "Here, please."
"Money with portraits printed on it can ward off evil spirits, and currency has always been a thing to drive away evil and avoid disasters. Don't take it," Bai Yuhuai pressed his hand on Jing Jiujiu's back, slightly turning his body and whispering in the young man's ear.
Jing Jiujiu quickly withdrew his fingers.
"If it's some ancient coins from years ago, especially from specific years, embodying the concept of 'round sky and square earth', and incorporating symbols of divine and political power, you absolutely must not touch them," Bai Yuhuai continued.
Jing Jiujiu nodded hurriedly, firmly remembering it in his heart.
Since Jing Jiujiu didn't dare touch it with his hands, naturally it was all carried by Bai Yuhuai.
Master Zhou didn't hear their conversation clearly and didn't know the reason. Seeing this, he secretly marveled. A young master is indeed a young master, even the job of carrying money is done by others for him.
And this Mr. Bai is even a formidable big star!
Watching them walk away, Master Zhou became even more determined in his heart. He must curry favor with that young master!
Bai Yuhuai's car took Jing Jiujiu for a spin around town. When they were heading back to the villa, Jing Jiujiu looked at the bustling traffic outside the window: "...Wait, stop for a moment."
The driver listened and really stopped.
Jing Jiujiu opened the car door and got out, but didn't immediately walk into the store.
He stood in a corner where the surveillance cameras couldn't catch him and beckoned to Bai Yuhuai.
By now it was already late, and when Bai Yuhuai followed with the money, he found that Jing Jiujiu had turned transparent.
He had turned into his soul state again.
"Let's go in, let's go in," Jing Jiujiu urged.
Bai Yuhuai responded by stepping in, and Jing Jiujiu followed behind, holding onto the hem of his clothes, quietly entering.
"Hello, sir, may I ask what you need..." The clerk looked up and saw Bai Yuhuai, her eyes widening in shock.
"B-Bai Yuhuai?!"
Bai Yuhuai nodded slightly.
Jing Jiujiu, behind him, tugged at the hem of his clothes: "This way, this way."
Bai Yuhuai had to move in that direction to prevent the young man from not being able to pull him and possibly falling.
"This one, buy this one. Use the money Master Zhou gave me to buy it," Jing Jiujiu said behind Bai Yuhuai.
In a place where the clerk couldn't see, Jing Jiujiu stood on tiptoe and leaned close to Bai Yuhuai's ear.
The clerk, suppressing her excitement, wanted to look at Bai Yuhuai but didn't quite dare. In the dim light, she glimpsed Bai Yuhuai's left ear slowly turning red.
Clerk: ?
Can it only turn red on one side?
At this moment, Bai Yuhuai lowered his eyes in front of the display case, a whole cabinet of rabbit ears... and also bear ears, antlers, devil horns, cat ears...
Bai Yuhuai: "..."
"Buy it, buy it," Jing Jiujiu tugged at his sleeve.
Bai Yuhuai stiffly reached out his hand, pointing at each one: "I want this one, and this one..."
Clerk: ??
"Pack them all up," Bai Yuhuai said with a stiff face.
This little ghost was good, turning transparent, no one could see him.
The clerk dazedly and excitedly packed up these headbands and hats, then watched as Best Actor Bai rather unceremoniously took money out of a black bag to pay.
Everything from head to toe seemed off.
Bai Yuhuai picked up the bag and turned to leave.
Back in the car.
The driver was stunned and hurriedly asked: "Where's that young master?"
Bai Yuhuai almost laughed from anger.
Jing Jiujiu was still in his ghost form, and the driver couldn't see him.
Bai Yuhuai had to say: "He felt it was better to walk a bit, we'll head back to the villa first."
The driver seemed to want to say something but held back.
He had been thinking before that Best Actor Bai might have taken a young lover. That young man was always delicate and soft... but now seeing this, how heartless must Best Actor Bai be to leave someone to walk home.
Meanwhile, the clerk tremblingly took out her phone and started posting in the fan forum.
[Oh my god, a million oh my gods! My past life, my past eight hundred lives, my ancestors for nineteen generations must have accumulated great virtue! I actually met Bai today, Bai without sunglasses, mask, or hat! He came to my store to buy things and even talked to me!
...Uh, it's just that Bai bought a bunch of rabbit ears and stuff to take home. Suddenly so cute! He even took money out of a black bag to pay, like he's still living in the 2G network era!]
Below, a bunch of people responded:
[Really? I don't believe it]
[Haha, people have been saying for a long time that Bai seems to be often isolated from the world, with no news, living like a caveman]
[? Come to think of it, I also feel Bai has changed a bit recently]
[Last time one of my sisters said Bai went to her store to buy colorful little bowls]
[???]
When they got back to the villa, Jing Jiujiu didn't make Bai Yuhuai wear one of his "beloved" rabbit ears to take a look.
He was in a good mood today, so he sat in front of the TV again and continued playing Mario. He had no idea whether Best Actor Bai's reputation was dead or alive now.
The next day, the Jing family invited Master Zhou over again.
"I'd like to ask Master Zhou to take a look at the feng shui of this office," Jing Tinghua smiled slightly.
Master Zhou was a bit nervous at first, but hearing this, he immediately smiled too.
He didn't know how that Mr. Bai had obtained the photos, but last night, he hadn't slept at all. He didn't even have time to examine that expensive courtyard, just stared at the photos, memorizing feng shui patterns.
Those photos were of the overall Jing family building and the layouts of several offices.
This office was among them.
Master Zhou pointed to a spot: "There's a money tree placed at the entrance, but there's a strange window. Light can only come in halfway, exactly dividing the whole office in half. One side yin, one side yang. The money tree is in yin, but the evil-repelling mirror you hung is in yang... What? Want to profit from the dead?"
After saying this, he coldly said: "I thought I made myself clear yesterday. I didn't expect Mr. Jing to set up this test for me. Mr. Jing doubts me."
Jing Tinghua smiled: "No, this isn't doubt. I'm asking Master Zhou to look at the feng shui, and I'll pay for it."
Only then did Master Zhou's expression soften a bit.
Jing Tinghua thought to himself, sure enough, he's only after money. But he still instructed someone to prepare the money.
"I have another big business here. Please go back and rest for two days, and then I'll invite you out again," Jing Tinghua said.
Master Zhou wasn't interested in his big business at all, only in money. Hearing this, he nodded and left with the money again.
But today, Jing Tinghua opened the laptop in front of him.
Wheels appeared on the screen, then the inside of a car door...
He had installed a micro camera on the bag today.
A master of the mystical arts might not necessarily be proficient in this high technology.
As Jing Tinghua had guessed, the camera had not been turned off the entire time, indicating that Master Zhou hadn't noticed it at all.
The camera shook along the way until finally, Master Zhou came to a stop.
Master Zhou picked up the package and held it up to his face.
In the frame, Master Zhou furrowed his brow, then quickly plucked out the camera and tossed it away.
"He discovered it," the secretary said.
"It's enough. When he picked it up, the door number was already in the shot. Go investigate 111 Fengyang East Road."
The secretary left quickly and returned within a few minutes, his expression grave. He said, "...This place was a property owned by the young master before he passed away."
Jing Tinghua's face changed abruptly. "So he's the one who broke the ancient castle formation and is after Jing Jiujiu's fortune?"
The last bit of doubt in Jing Tinghua's mind was dispelled.
This person indeed had real abilities and was exactly the one he wanted to recruit.
Jing Tinghua said in a deep voice, "Jiujiu's ghost might be nurtured by his side. Doesn't he like money? Offer him ten million and see if he's willing."
Jing Tinghua immediately called Master Zhou himself, but heard the "line busy" tone.
Master Zhou was on the phone with Bai Yuhuai.
"Mr. Bai, you were spot on. That Jing Tinghua really did put a camera in the package! He probably knows where I live by now."
Bai Yuhuai responded coolly, "You need to remember your identity at all times."
Master Zhou replied, "Yes, yes, yes, I am a master!"
Actually, this was all told to him by Jing Jiujiu.
"Jing Tinghua is a very meticulous person," Jing Jiujiu had said.
Connecting Jing Tinghua's actions, Bai Yuhuai thought to himself, that's not meticulousness, that's paranoia.
Bai Yuhuai said, "I'll have someone send a formation diagram to you. If Jing Tinghua asks you to set up a formation later, use that one."
Master Zhou now obeyed Bai Yuhuai and Jing Jiujiu without question, repeatedly agreeing, "Yes, yes!"
After they finished their call,
Both Bai Yuhuai and Jing Jiujiu's phones received a news alert.
"Dingfeng Entertainment's President Jing jumps from third floor in the middle of the night..."
Jing Jiujiu clicked on it and saw a photo of Jing Hao being lifted into an ambulance. The lower half of his body was limp against the stretcher, with varying degrees of bleeding on his forehead, neck, and arms. Yet at this moment, he was straining to lift his neck, staring fixedly in the direction of the camera.
The man's eyes were sunken, his cheeks gaunt, and the dark circles under his eyes were getting worse.
[Damn! At first glance, doesn't he look like a zombie?]
[What's wrong? Did he go crazy because he's too rich? LOL.jpg]
There were hardly any sympathetic comments online.
At that moment, in a studio in a building in Capital City, the star in the recording booth had been recording for who knows how many takes, still not getting it right.
Everyone was getting a bit bored and started chatting.
The assistant sighed, "The Jing family was doing so well, how did they end up with this Jing Hao creature?"
A man sat in the corner.
He wore a deep purple suit, the frivolous color easily subdued on his frame. Looking closer, his long hair was slicked back and tied tightly, with a string of small gold hoops hanging from piercings along both ears.
His features were handsome yet aloof.
A red dot on his forehead, like Buddhist vermilion, made him look both flippant and dignified.
The man was looking down, dealing with messages on his phone, not joining the conversation.
The assistant said, "He called thirty prostitutes in one night."
Everyone in the room: ?
The assistant continued, "Don't you think that's sick? He couldn't handle it himself, so he jumped off a building."
Everyone in the room: ???
Perhaps because this news was too bizarre and sensational, even the man sitting in the corner, who had been resting with his eyes closed and silent all along, couldn't help but look up.
"There seems to be a lot of news about Jing Corporation lately. Earlier, that Mr. Jing Tinghua almost got hit on the head at the business association meeting."
"That's nothing. Did you see Best Actor Bai's trending topic recently?"
"Haha, I know who you're talking about. Jing Jiujiu, right? Well, Jing Tinghua says he's not dead, but no one has really seen him."
"No, Best Actress Tao and others have seen him... I overheard them chatting privately last time."
As they were chatting enthusiastically, the assistant suddenly exclaimed, "President Yin! President Yin, are you alright?"
The assistant quickly rushed over.
The man had suddenly clutched his chest tightly.
His handsome features were contorted, he was sweating profusely, and after a while, he only managed to squeeze out three broken words: "Jing... Jiu..."
The assistant: "What wine today?"
The man: "Jing..."
The assistant: "What gold?"
The assistant: "Drink today for today is here? Let tomorrow's sorrows wait till tomorrow? Why are you reciting poetry now?"
The man's eyes closed, and he fainted.
The assistant: "...Did I accidentally make President Yin faint?"